Thursday, May 07, 2009

Road Trip Writing

So MINIspace.com recently launched a competition. Now they host competitions all the time, but they're usually contests to design cool background pics for their site or something like that. This one however was different, this competition has Kyality written all over it. Here's gist: write a story about your adventure in the new MINI Clubman + Airstream concept in 250 words or less and at the end of the month you could win a set of four Fritz Hansen Series Seven Chairs.

I watched carefully and after seven lame-o entries were posted, I posted mine:

Camped last night at the Seven Sacred Pools just outside Hāna, HI on the far side of Maui. Went spear fishing this morning, caught a big one. We loaded the custom Airstream, strapped our gear to the rack and fired up the matching Clubman, taking the Hāna Highway back to Upcountry Maui. We’re gonna watch the sunset from Haleakalā Crater. The Clubman handles the Hāna Highway‘s 620 bends and curves with flawless precision, powering through even the tightest of hairpins. The Airstream follows close in harmonious synchronization. Though they are two entities, they travel as one. Together they pass distracted tourists in cheap rental cars with ease. We catch momentary glimpses of about a dozen waterfalls, but let’s face it—they’d only slow us down.

Once we exit the rainforest, we begin the trek up all 10,000 vertical feet of Maui’s grand Haleakalā Crater. Switchback after switchback is quickly chewed up by the fine-tuned turbo lurking beneath the Clubman’s bonnet stripes. We dodge downhill cyclists with sharp and immediate feedback from both the Clubman and its load. We reach the summit and pop the Airstream’s hatch to lounge in our “Fritz’s” just as the sun begins to dip itself into the Pacific.

We’re surfing Pāʻia in the morn. A cold wind picks up. We grab our fleeces; damn I’m hungry. I think about the fish we speared this morning. Luckily I brought some seaweed, sticky rice and my Kasumi knives. Sushi anyone?

As soon as mine was posted about 20 more went up quick—ALL of them in a narrative format. Blimey. Freaking copycats! Come up with your own format. Sheesh. And Upto12, if you post something better than mine, so help me...